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Monday, 9 February 2009

Much has been written about the Munich air disaster, and in particularthe lost generation of footballers that perished on that fateful day in1958.

Players like Duncan Edwards, Tommy Taylor, Roger Byrne and LiamWhelan - a native of Cabra in Dublin - were part of the exciting teamthat was been moulded by Matt Busby. Their goal was to conquer Europe.The icy runway at Munich put pay to that dream and it was another 10years before Busby, who was twice given the last rites after the crash,realised his own ambition for the club by guiding them to European Cupsuccess.

That sultry night in Wembley in May 1968 was a night to savour for allManchester United fans and a perfect way to remember the eight playersand three club officials who were cruelly taken from this world.

Their place in soccer immortality is ensured, whether it is in Manchesteror in the many other parts of the globe where United are followed.

Jeff Connor is a fan, yet he has only seen one game at Old Traffordsince Munich, preferring to remember the exciting style of footballplayed by the Babes before the disaster. His fascination with thisperiod lead him to focus on the players who survived Munich and therelatives of the victims. While Connor had some reservations aboutwriting the book and cashing in on Munich, he was encouraged to doso by the relatives.

They were stories to tell of neglect on the part of the biggest soccerclub in the world to help those who were directly affected by thetragedy. Former players Johnny Berry and Albert Scanlon spoke of howtheir confidence was shattered. Indeed Berry was later evicted from hisclub house and never played for United again. The revered NorthernIreland player Jackie Blanchflower lost his home and lived for manyyears enduring both physical and mental trauma. The common viewechoed was that those who died in Munich had gone on to us a betterplace, while those who survived were denied a chance for the woundsto heal, as they should have done, with time.

It wasn't until 1997, on the eve of the Champions League final inMunich that the surviving players gathered in a hotel and came up witha plan to ask Manchester United for compensation. The question is whyit took it so long.

In his introduction to the book, Connor noted that the powers that beat Old Trafford were somewhat sensitive about the subject of theMunich air disaster. The many e-mails that Connor sent to United'sformer Chief Executive Peter Kenyon were unanswered.

It is also interesting to note that Bobby Charlton, now a director ofManchester United, was not present at the meeting in the Munich hotel.

This sensitivity on the part of Manchester United obviously hinderedConnor in giving a more detailed account on how the club as a whole wasaffected by Munich. That's a pity, because in reading the book, youfeel there is much more to tell. The frustration felt by the victims ispalpable.

As a fan, Connor outlines the history of Manchester United and howthe club emerged in the post war years to become a power house ofEnglish football. The formation of the Busby Babes is also explored inmuch detail. There are countless books written about United and I didn'tthink another history lesson was going to be on offer in 'The Lost Babes'.

Maybe we could have been spared this if Manchester United, in the wordsof the author, were more forthcoming about the events and the aftermathof what happened on that snowy day 51 years ago.

About Me

I am 24 years old, Romanian and addicted to Manchester United. I now live in UK in South Wales.
I began to follow Manchester United when I was about 12 years old, way up there in the mountains of Transylvania, that's how far the news of our great team travels !
I have another blog Click Here all about Manchester United and I will be updating that blog after every game Manchester United play,
and in between as well if time
permits so stick around !
The Journey around Romania blog is Here so drop by and check that out too from time to time.

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